The Union Home Ministry has officially announced the timeline for India’s long-awaited population census, the first since 2011. The census will be conducted in two distinct phases, beginning with the Houselisting Operation on October 1, 2026, followed by the Population Enumeration on March 1, 2027. This marks the first digital census in India’s history, allowing respondents to answer questions from the comfort of their homes through a digital platform, significantly modernizing the data collection process.

The Houselisting Operation (HLO) phase will focus on collecting detailed information about households, including asset ownership, income levels, living conditions, and available amenities. The second phase, Population Enumeration (PE), will gather crucial demographic and socio-economic data for each individual in the household. For the first time since Independence, caste will be officially recorded as part of the census, as confirmed by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. This inclusion is expected to provide more nuanced insights into India’s social structure and address longstanding demands for caste-based data.

The announcement holds significant political implications as it clears the path for implementing the Women’s Reservation Bill and initiating the long-pending delimitation process. The bill, which reserves one-third of seats in Parliament and state legislatures for women, can only take effect after a census and subsequent redrawing of constituency boundaries. Delimitation, frozen since 1971, was initially paused through the 42nd Amendment and later extended by the 84th Amendment until after the first census post-2026. The upcoming 2026–27 census is thus a critical step in reshaping India's electoral and legislative landscape, potentially leading to a redistribution of political power based on updated population data. With the digital format and expanded scope, the census is expected to set a new benchmark in national data collection and governance planning.